A spectacular bird of Birch scrub & moorland edge. During the breeding season male Black Grouse gather in leks to display & joust with the dominant males holding the central ground. It is these males that almost exclusively attract the females' attention & once mated the females move off to nest & rear the young alone. Black Grouse lek at both dawn & dusk throughout much of the year but especially in spring; the crooning bubbling noises from the lek are one of the iconic sounds of the Scottish uplands.
Unfortunately the population of this spectacular grouse is in freefall throughout much of Europe though in Scotland numbers have bottomed out & may even be on the rise.